Highlights of Route 66 Arizona – In Photos

In mid-2015, Jess and I had the chance to tour the US in a bright green Jucy Champ RV, thanks to the nice people at Jucy. We decided, of course, that driving the entire 2,400 mile length of Route 66, from Santa Monica in California, up to Chicago, Illinois, was going to be the definitive road trip for us.

Then, we tacked on an adventure retracing the Oregon Trail (which we managed to survive without catching dysentery), because, well, why not?

Back to Route 66. I’m sharing some of my favourite photos and moments from our road trip across each of the eight states that the original Route 66 spanned, in the order that we did them in. I’ve already shared my favourite California Route 66 images, and now is the turn of Arizona.

I think Arizona was my favourite of all the states we crossed. We had spectacular weather, the scenery is vast, expansive and photogenic, and we even managed to fit in a detour to the Grand Canyon as part of our adventure.

In terms of Route 66, Arizona is home to some of the more iconic stretches of this route, at least, from a tourists point of view, with a great many towns and attractions doing their best to capitalise on the legend that is the Mother Road. So whilst there certainly *are* some of those abandoned structures to be found on the way – there are a good many more thriving establishments and towns, all happy to serve you a good old slice of Route 66 charm.

Here’s what we found in Arizona.

A great deal of Route 66 is no longer passable to vehicles – like this old bridge. It’s still photogenic though.

Unlike the bridge, many of the diners in Arizona are still very much in use. This is Mr D’s Diner, which is an excellent stop for a bite to eat and a root beer!

Probably the most famous sign along Route 66, advertising the Jack Rabbit trading post. Signs like this used to span the route for hundreds of miles, promising travellers all sorts of wonders when they finally arrived at the store.

And who could be disappointed when arriving to find a giant rabbit that you can sit on?

There are plenty of other curiosities on the route, including collections of old cars, often found on the site of former gas stations, like the one above…

…or sitting and rusting in the middle of nowhere!

The Arizona scenery was just stunning, and the roads seemed to go on beautifully forever.

The town of Winslow Arizona became famous thanks to the song by the Eagles, “Take it Easy”, which prominently features the song in its lyrics. This is a fact the town has capitalised on, with a whole corner dedicated to the passage from the song.

It is, admittedly, pretty cool.

Of course, traversing Route 66 requires the eating of a lot of diner food. So we did just that, often in diners which have been in existence since the road was first built, and don’t seem to have changed their menus a great deal in all that time.

More faded memories in old gas stations…

And of course, you have to sleep somewhere, with a classic Route 66 motel being the lodging of choice for most travellers.

And of course, more of those diners.

Some towns really get on board the whole Route 66 vibe, with artworks…

…and classic cars.

Another classic diner along the route, this is the Twisters Diner in Williams, Arizona.

Of course, not everywhere has survived the coming of the interstate. This was once a theme park.

It isn’t so much of a theme park any more.

Or a gas station, for that matter.

Still, there’s a lot left to see that is still in operation!

I was fascinated by the immensity of the trains traversing this part of the US. There seemed to be one every few minutes!

Of course, you don’t have to stay in a normal motel. You can sleep in a Wigwam made of concrete, and park your iridescent beetle outside.

Or funky car of your choice, really!

Tips for Planning your own Route 66 Adventure

If you’re planning your own Route 66 adventure, we’ve got a bit of reading for you!

Finally, take a look at this book – the best way in our opinion to successfully navigate the entire length of Route 66 as faithfully as you can. We followed it the whole way, and even met the author, and couldn’t have done without it!

And that sums up this photo essay on Route 66, Arizona, easily one of my favourite states on the Route from a photography standpoint!

Hi, Laurence! Loved your photos. They gave a great feeling of the legendary Route 66. Would love to drive that too, someday. Well, someday me and Niina will do that, but maybe we should get our official driver’s licenses first. ;D

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Hi, we're Laurence and Jessica Norah. We've been running this site since 2010, and this is the part where we tell you how awesome our words and photography are. We'd love you to explore more of the site, and come to your own conclusion. So grab a drink, dive in, and read on! Or, you can find out more about us. Comic included.

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